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The Native Tourist
reformed/biblical observations on Christianity and culture

Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Writing in Books
I presently rarely write in books. I occationally put little brackets or dots next to a sentence or paragraph that I want to find later. But actual words and signs I tend to avoid.

I really hate books that others have marked up. It can be unnerving to find a used book that I always wanted to own that has highling or underlining. So I try to keep my own books unmarked in the thought that someone else might end up using them.

With all this in mind, it really interesting to read about John Adams marginalia in the NYT Book Review. There is an exhibit of his books at the Boston Public Library and there is web site as well. To ready his notations is to see inside Adams brilliant mind. To eavesdrop in on a conversation. I guess I'll forgive him for his transgression.

(This review piece by Garrison Keillor on photography and 9/11 is also worth a read. What an overdocumented world we live in...)